Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Exploring Culture
As far as our class is concerned, practices that helped me gain an understanding of cultural perspectives through the Latin American world are our homework assignments that taught us about culture and discussion board posts. In class, we learned about aspects of Latin American culture such as sports, leisurely activities, food, and family dynamics.
The aspects of culture that we learned about in class helped me better understand values and attitudes in the Hispanic culture by offering more than just words. Photos, videos, and interviews with real people helped me absorb the richness of Hispanic culture. For example, I enjoyed seeing the excitement that surrounds the national soccer clubs in Spain, similar to how baseball is considered America’s national pastime. While I don’t feel that the aspects of Hispanic culture that I learned about inherently challenged my worldview, but they definitely expanded my worldview. I have always enjoyed learning about different cultures, the way people in different parts of the world think and move through life, so this part of the class was fascinating for me.
Engaging in Communities
It is incredibly important to engage in one’s immediate and global community. We all have a role to play in looking out for each other as we can. It can be as small as helping a neighbor struggling with groceries as you’re coming home, or buying cookies from your local Girl Scouts every year, or volunteering at a local food bank.
Interpersonal Communication
During the course of our class this semester, we have engaged in interpersonal oral/audio activities such as discussion board posts, voice threads, and compositions. Discussion board posts have allowed us to explore culture in countries such as Peru, like the ruins of Cuzco or its various delicious foods. Voice threads have allowed us to practice our listening and speaking skills in Spanish, responding to questions presented by photos and audio. Compositions have given us the opportunity to use our imagination to practice our vocabulary and synthesize all other information we’ve learned throughout the semester.
Discussion-Board-Post-3Presentational Writing
During the semester, we were assigned three written compositions. For the first composition, we were to create our own sentences based on photos of leisurely activities. For the second composition, we were to describe fun things we did during the previous weekend, including methods of transportation, weather, clothing, activities, and foods that we ate. For the third composition, we were to write a short article for our school’s student website describing leisurely activities on or off-campus. I’ve included my response to the second composition assignment where I talked about going to the mountains in upstate New York with my friends.
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